quemavsquepaTell them apart

Quick tell: quema is a noun, quepa is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quema” is a noun and “quepa” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,348
“quema” frequency rank
#27,367
“quepa” frequency rank
33715
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quema quepa
Definition Acción o efecto de quemar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de caber.

Where the eye mixes quema and quepa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
quema
5 ch
quepa

Why the eye confuses quema with quepa

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quema is [ˈkema] while quepa is [ˈkepa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “quema” becomes p in “quepa”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quema is recorded at frequency rank #6,348, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkema]. quepa is at rank #27,367, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkepa].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 33715, this pair ranks #195,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quema vs quepa

Shared letters: aequ. Private to "quema": m. Private to "quepa": p.

"quema" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quepa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quemaqeuma · qquema · queam · quemma · qumea · uqema
  • quepaqeupa · qquepa · queap · queppa · qupea · uqepa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quema" and "quepa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quema" is a noun and "quepa" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quema" or "quepa"?
"quema" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,348 in our Spanish list, against #27,367 for "quepa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quepa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #195,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quema" and "quepa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quepa vs Quero". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #195,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list